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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox saint
| honorific_prefix = [[Saint]]
| name =
| birth_date =
| death_date = {{death year and age|683|615}}
| feast_day = 25 August
| venerated_in = [[Roman Catholic Church]] <br> [[Church of England]]
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_place = [[Northumbria]]
| death_place = [[Coldingham]], [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]]
| titles = [[Abbess]]
| canonized_date = [[Pre-Congregation]]▼
| canonized_place =▼
| canonized_by =▼
▲|canonized_date=Pre-Congregation
| attributes =▼
▲|canonized_place=
| patronage =▼
▲|canonized_by=
| major_shrine =▼
▲|attributes=
▲|patronage=
▲|major_shrine=
}}
'''Æbbe''', also called ''' Tabbs''',<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.bartleby.com/210/8/253.html|accessdate=2021-05-23 |chapter=St. Ebba, or Tabbs, Virgin and Abbess |author=Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73) |volume=VIII: August. |title=The Lives of the Saints |year=1866}}</ref> ({{Circa|615}} – 683) was an [[Angles (tribe)|Anglian]] [[abbess]] and noblewoman. She was the daughter of [[Æthelfrith]], king of [[Bernicia]] from {{Circa|593}} to 616. She founded monasteries at [[Ebchester]] and [[St Abb's Head]] near [[Coldingham]] in [[Scotland]].
▲:''For the later Abbess of Coldingham, see [[Æbbe the Younger]]''.
==Life==
===Early life===
Æbbe was the daughter of King [[
Æthelfrith invaded the neighbouring kingdom of Deira in 604, and deposed the heir, Acha's brother [[Edwin of Northumbria|Edwin]], who fled into exile. Æthelfrith was the first Bernician king to also rule Deira, giving him an important place in the history of the later [[Kingdom of Northumbria]].
Edwin took refuge in the court of [[Rædwald of East Anglia|King Rædwald]] of [[Kingdom of East Anglia|East Anglia]], and with his support in 616, raised an army against Æthelfrith. In the subsequent battle, Æthelfrith was defeated and killed. Edwin then gained the throne of Northumbria. Edwin on the throne meant Northumbria was no longer safe for the children of Æthelfrith as they had a potential rival claim to the throne. Therefore, when Æbbe was still young she, her mother and brothers fled north to exile in the court of [[Eochaid Buide|King Eochaid Buide]] of [[Dál Riata]]. It was during this time of exile in western [[Scotland]] that she and her brothers were converted to [[Christianity]].▼
▲Edwin took refuge in the court of [[Rædwald of East Anglia|King Rædwald]] of [[Kingdom of East Anglia|East Anglia]], and with his support in 616, raised an army against Æthelfrith.
===Abbess===▼
While the sons of [[Aethelfrith of Northumbria|Æthelfrith]] always represented a threat to [[Edwin of Northumbria|Edwin]], he was finally deposed by an alliance of the [[Mercia]]n King [[Penda of Mercia|Penda]] and the Welsh King [[Cadwallon ap Cadfan|Cadwallon]]. They raised an army against [[Edwin of Northumbria|Edwin]] and killed him in battle in 633. Eanfrith, eldest son of [[Aethelfrith of Northumbria|Æthelfrith]], and Æbbe's half-brother, returned as King of [[Bernicia]], however he was double-crossed and murdered by [[Cadwallon ap Cadfan|Cadwallon]]. The year following [[Aethelfrith of Northumbria|Æthelfrith]]'s son [[Saint Oswald of Northumbria|Oswald]] returned and drove the invaders from both [[Bernicia]] and [[Deira (kingdom)|Deira]], thus establishing himself on the throne of [[Northumbria]]. He was however defeated and killed in battle, in 642, by [[Penda of Mercia|Penda]] of [[Mercia]], and was succeeded as king by his brother [[Oswiu]].▼
▲===Life as Abbess===
With her brothers on the throne of [[Northumbria]], Æbbe could return from exile and with their support established a monastery at [[Ebchester]] and later at ''urbs Coludi'', now known as Kirk Hill at [[St Abb's Head]], latterly evolving into [[Coldingham Priory]]. This religious house lasted for about 40 years and was a [[double monastery|double separate monastery]] of both monks and nuns governed by Æbbe. Legend says she became a nun to avoid the attentions of a certain Prince Aidan. However, he refused to give up his suit and it is said that due to her prayers the tide stayed high around Kirk Hill for three days and protected her.▼
▲While the sons of
▲With her brothers on the throne of
Her political prowess also proved important in rectifying a dispute between her nephew
The ill feeling in court against Wilfrid continued with Ecgfrith's second wife, Iurmenburh, who became hostile to Wilfrid on account of the vast estates which he had acquired and the way he travelled about with a large armed retinue, like that of a king. This culminated in Wilfrid being imprisoned at [[Dunbar]] at Ecgfrith's whim. Thanks to Æbbe's political skills, on a visit by Ecgfrith to the monastery on Kirk hill, she managed to persuade her nephew to release the bishop.<ref name=Ziegler/>
The reality of life in the early Christian establishment was not always strict on sexual piety.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}} Due to the noble background of members of the religious community, the monastery would also have been a place for eating, drinking and entertainment. While Æbbe, herself was noted for her own piety, she had trouble enforcing discipline at the monastery. The monks and nuns thus became very lax and worldly. This leads to one of the most famous miracles surrounding the patron saint of southeast Scotland and northeast England, St. [[Cuthbert of Lindisfarne|Cuthbert]] who visited Æbbe's monastery to instruct the community. At night [[Cuthbert of Lindisfarne|Cuthbert]] would disappear to bathe and pray in the sea, to stop himself succumbing to temptations of the flesh. Very early one morning, a monk from the monastery spied him praying and singing psalms in the sea and as [[Cuthbert of Lindisfarne|Cuthbert]] came ashore, he saw or imagined he saw two otters bound out of the sea and join [[Cuthbert of Lindisfarne|Cuthbert]]. The most likely location for this event is Horse Castle bay at the base of the Kirk Hill.▼
▲
===Death===
Shortly after the death of Æbbe, and as foretold in
==Archeology==
The remains of a possible monastery at Coldingham was discovered near Coldingham Priory (a historical house for Benedictine monks), according to the announcement on 8 March 2019 by DigVentures, a U.K.-based group led by archaeologists and supported by crowdfunding.<ref>[https://www.livescience.com/64961-monastery-7th-century-scottish-princess-excavated.html Monastery of 7th-Century Scottish Princess (and Saint) Possibly Discovered]. By Laura Geggel, Associate Editor, Live Science. March 11, 2019.</ref>
==See also==
* [[Coldingham Priory]]
==References==
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==Sources==
*{{cite book | author=
*{{cite book | author=
*{{cite book | author=
*https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-47495826
==External links==
* {{PASE|355|Æbbe 2}}
*[http://www.stabbs.org/ St. Abbs Community Website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080725022346/http://www.stabbs.org/aebba.html St. Abbs Community Website]
*[http://www.freecen.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Berwick/Coldingham/Coldingham.htm Coldingham historical records]
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{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aebbe
[[Category:
[[Category:683 deaths]]
[[Category:Anglo-Saxon royalty]]
[[Category:Northumbrian saints]]
[[Category:Anglo-Saxon nuns]]▼
[[Category:Anglo-Saxon abbesses]]
[[Category:7th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:Royal House of Northumbria]]
[[Category:7th-century Christian nuns]]
[[Category:7th-century Scottish people]]
[[Category:7th-century Scottish women]]
[[Category:People from Ebchester]]
[[Category:People from Berwickshire]]
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